Invalid&#39;s bed with manual control



Aug; 14, 1951 A. H. w. STECHERT INVALIDS BED WITH MANUAL CONTROL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1949 FIE. 1

INVENTOR A/frea 5/ecfier/ W T ORNEY" A. H. W. STECHERT IIiVAIiIDS BED WITH MANUAL CONTROL Aug. 14, 1951 Filed April 21, 1949' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR A/fred 5/ecfier/ BY Momma! Aug. 14, 1951 A. H. w. STECHERT INVALIDS BED WITH MANUAL CONTROL 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 21, 1949 INVENTOR Ai /e0 5/ecfier/ av ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 14, 951

UNITED- STATES rare-NT OFFICE INVHLIDSBED WITH MANUAL COMRUL Alfred H. W. r-Stechert, Anaheim, Calif.

Appli'cation- April 21, 1949, Serial No. 881819 (Cl. .5-63?) I 7 Claims. r 1

Thisflinv'ention relates toan .invalidfs bed with a manual control thereon, :so that the patient himself can adjust the bed to either 7 a reclining position :or a sitting position, or any position between these two. positions while lying on the bed. object-of myinvention is to provide a novel invalids bed in which the'patient himself While lying on the bed, can quickly and easily adjust the bed from :a ccmpleterreclining position to a sitting position as: may beudesired by the patient.

A feature oi my invention resides in the means to counterbalance the weight of the moving portion of the bed and weight of the patient by means of springs so thatnlittle efiortlissnecessary adjustingthe bedto its various positions.

Another feature otmyzinventionis to provide a novelinvalids bed ofth'e character stated, which issu-itable in its variouspositions and will remain in' any one of its adjusted positions until again moved by the patient Still another feature of my invention is to provide a novel invalids :bed of the character stated, in which the mattress will remain in position on'its-base even though the base is variously adjusted, and, further, the mattress will'not impede the adjustment of -the parts of the bed, and will automatically bend toconform with change to various positions.

Another featureof' my invention is to provide a novel invalids bed of the character stated, which is as low as a chair, and with many patients it is thereby not necessary for a nurse to lift the entire weight of the patient in placing the patient on the bed or removing same from the bed, as is the case when using a standard hospital bed.

Another feature of my invention is to provide-a novel invalids bed of the character stated, in which a patient is able to exercise his body by moving the bed up anddown.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel invalids bed of the character stated, which'is simple in construction and effective in operation.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invalids bed.

Figure an a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Figure. Sis-1a side elevation of my invalids bed.

2 Figure ris iats'eotional-view taken on line 4-4 oiiFi'gureB.

Figure 5isLa fragmentary sectional view of thebase i-and showing the gear construction.

Figure 6 issa i-fra'gmentaryzside view of the gears showninlFigure ii.

:Figure F7 is a side elevation sofa slightly modified form :of tinvalidfs bed. i.

Figureiaiis' a sectionalview' taken on line 8-8 of Figure '7.

Figure :9 zisja fragmentary longitudinal sectional view or the base oi? the bed showing the locking'construetion,

Figure. .10 is a sectional View taken on line Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral tindicatesthebase of the bed, which is substantially mctimgular in shape, and is mounted unsuitable Tellers Ker casters 2. The base I includes :atopmember land a front end member '4- Thesermembers form parts of the substantially rectangular hollow box-like structure of the base L The bed platform 5 consists of the following sections:

A headseotiondzaninterhxediate section 1, and afoot section's. :These: sections are all hingedly connected togethenxsubstantially as shown, The foot section ll also hlSB/f'OOt member 9 extending upward-1y atrightang'les therefrom, and this acts to support the feet of the'patient A mattress Hl "preferably oi the foam-rubber type and isattacheditn the platform .5. This mattress maybe. suitably attached to the sections of the platformri, so that-it will not'slip: endwise or sidewise when-the bediis raised to. a sitting position The root section 8 is hingedly secured to the top member tofthebase'by means of the hinge II. A plate t2 isfix'edly securedto the top section 6 and this plate: extcnds downwardly into. the base l throughaa slot F3 in the top member 3 of thebase. A secondplate I4 is hingedly attached tofithe lower .endoi the plate 12 by the hinge li an d to the'foot section & by the hinge IE; 'FIhe. plate M protects. through the end wall 4, which is slotted, as shown at H, to permit movement of the plate 14 as the platform 5 moves into its various positions from recliningto sitting.

Coil springs lfi are'attached at one end to the plate t2 and atthetother'end to the base I so that a. constant exerted on the. plate 12, which acts as a lever thetension of the springs tending to: urge the'plattorm 5 to the sitting position, substantially as shown in Figure 2. The tension of the spring-s t! aresuch that the weight of the bed and patient is substantially balanced, permitting it to be moved to either sitting or reclining position with very little effort on the part of the patient.

The means to move the platform to its various adjusted positions, is as follows:

A shaft I9 is journalled in the base I and extends horizontally through the base. A hand wheel 29 is mounted on the shaft I9 and may be aflixed to either end of the shaft I9, as desired. A drive shaft 2| is journalled in a box 22, secured to the base I. The shaft 2| is driven from the shaft I9 by the meshing gears 23. An operating shaft 24 extends transversely through the base I and is journalled in this base. The shaft 24 is driven by the shaft 2I through suitable gears 25. A lever arm 26 projects from the shaft 24 and is fixedly secured to this shaft. A link 21 extends from the member 26 to the plate I4 and is pivotally attached at each end, thus as the shaft 24 is rotated the arm 26 will be swung, thus moving the plates I4 and I2 to a position to recline the patient or to permit sitting posture.

There is a certain endwjse movement of the intermediate member I and to permit this endwise movement, I may provide this section with rollers 28, which move on thetop member 3 of the base.

For the purpose of limiting: both the upright,

and the reclining positions of the platform 5, I provide the following construction:

A spur gear 29 is driven from the shaft I9 by the gear 30 and a stop pin 3| is engaged by a pin 3! on the face of the gear 29, thus creating a limit stop. for the bed. This stop arrangement is desirable when using worm gearing due to the large mechanical advantage in thistype of drive.

In Figures 7 to 10, inclusive, I have shown a modified actuating means to incline the bed, as desired by the patient. 'This means includes a transversely extending shaft 32, which is journalled in the base I. A lever arm 33 is mounted on either end of the. shaft 32 and this lever arm includes a loop 34, which may be grasped by the patient and swung either forwardly or rearwardly, as desired, to tilt the platform of the bed. An arm 35 is fixedlymounted on the shaft 32 and this shaft is connected by means of a link 36 to the plate I4; Thus, as the shaft 32 is rotated manually by the patient, the link 36 will move the plates I4'andI2, thus tilting the platform of the bed, as desired by the patient.

In this construction, the bed will tilt very easily and the patient may thus exercise himself, if he desires. To hold the bed platform in'its adjusted position, I provide a clamping means consisting of a metal strap 31, which is attached to the under side of the section 'I. The strap 31 extends through a box 38 and a control rod 39 extends through this box. The rod 39 is rotated by means of a handle 40 on either or both ends of the, rod. A worm M on the rod 39 threads into a brake shoe 42, positioned within the box 38. The brake shoe 42 engages the strap 31, as shown in Figure 10, thus clamping this strap and holding it against longitudinal movement, and thus holding the platform 5 of the bed in its adjusted position.

The construction shown in Figures 7 to 10, inclusive, also includes a limit stop construction, consisting of an arm 43v on the shaft 32, which engages a pin 44 to limit the throw of the arm 33.

slipping down when raising to a sitting position. This upward or knee action is automatic in my bed and is best observed in Figure 2.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting of a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, hinges connecting adjacent sections, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section, a second plate hingedly connected at one end to the foot section, both of said plates being hingedly secured together, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other end to the base, and manually operable means connected to said second plate to pivotally move the sections relative to said base.

2. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting of a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, hinges connecting adjacent sections, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section, a second plate hingedly connected at one end to the foot section, both of said plates being hingedly secured together, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other endto the base, a shaft journalled in said base, an arm on said shaft, a link extending from said arm to the second named plate, and manual means to rotate said shaft to pivotally move said sections relative to said base."

3. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting of a head section, an interme-.

diate section, and a foot section, hinges connecting adjacent sections, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section, a second plate hingedly connected at one end to the foot section, both of said plates being hingedly securedtogether, balance springs connected at one end to the, first named plate and at the other end to the base,

a shaft journalled in said base, an arm on said shaft, a link extending from said arm to the secr ond named plate, and manual means to rotate said shaft to pivotally move said sections relative to said base, said manually operable means including a shaft journalled in the base, a hand Wheel on the last named shaft to rotate the same, and gear means connecting the last named shaft and the first named shaft.

4. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting of a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, hinges connecting adjacent sections, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section, a second plate hingedly connected at one end to the foot section, both of said plates being hingedly secured together, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other end to the base, a shaft journalled in said base, an arm on said shaft, a'link extending from said arm to the second named plate, and manual means to rotate .said shaft to pivotally move said sections rela tive to said base, said manually operable means comprising an arm projecting from said shaft, and a loop on said arm to be valid.

5. An invalids bedincluding a base, a platform consisting of a. head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, means hinging adjacent sections together, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section intothe base, .a second .plate grasped by the ing hingedly connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other to the foot section, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other end to the base, a shaft journalled in said base, an arm projecting from the shaft, a link extending from said arm to the second named plate, and manually operable means to rotate said shaft.

6. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting .of a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, means hinging adjacent sections together, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section into the base, a second plate hinge'dly connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other to the foot section, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other end to the base, a shaft journalled in said base, an arm projecting from the shaft, a link extending from said arm to the second named plate, and manually operable means to rotate said shaft, said manually operable means including a second shaft, a hand wheel on said second shaft, and gear means extending from the second shaft to the first named shaft.

7. An invalids bed including a base, a platform consisting of a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, means hinging adjacent sections together, means hingedly mounting the foot section to the base, a plate projecting from the head section into the base, a second plate hingedly connected at on end to the first named plate and at the other to the foot section, balance springs connected at one end to the first named plate and at the other end to the base, a shaft journalled in said base, an arm projecting from the shaft, a link extending from said arm to the second named plate, and manually operable means to rotate said shaft, said manually operable means including an arm projecting from said shaft, and a loop on said arm.

ALFRED H. W. STECl-IERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 608,619 McKnight Aug. 9, 1898 782,335 Harvey Feb. 14, 1905 

